


Of Crowded Airport And Good Looking Company

by space_in_between



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 17:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15124247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/space_in_between/pseuds/space_in_between
Summary: Zhangjing is lost at the airport and fortunately (or not?) a good looking stranger is just as lost as him.





	Of Crowded Airport And Good Looking Company

**Author's Note:**

> it took me days to finish this short piece smh. thank you [zhan9jun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seventheavenly/pseuds/zhan9jun) unnie for encouraging me with the idea! <33

From any way Zhangjing looks at it, he still thinks that this is absolutely Chaoze’s fault.

Well, Zhangjing is also at blame—half of it—for believing Chaoze right away without checking the circumstance around him days ago while he still could, and now he has to face everything by himself and Zhangjing is  _ terrified _ .

Chaoze said it’s okay to go by himself, because London is not  _ that  _ big and Zhangjing acan manage a fucking flight from London to Shanghai with one transit in Amsterdam by himself.  _ It’s only an eleven and something hours of flight! You’ll be okay! _ He fucking said that because the flight is like a five minutes ride with bike from Chaoze’s flat to the nearest 7-eleven around his block since he has been doing that from three years ago, but it’s the very first time for Zhangjing. Chaoze said Heathrow Airport is easy to remember even though the place is damn huge, and Zhangjing could always ask the friendly airport employees whenever he needs help. 

And now, Zhangjing is absolutely doomed for taking everything Chaoze said, even agreeing to go back to Shanghai by himself at the end of this semester (Chaoze has to stay for some additional classes). He is currently standing in the middle of Heathrow Airport, ticket and other documents in hands ready to flight himself to Shanghai, but Zhangjing is at loss because he hasn’t flown anywhere except between Malaysia and Shanghai, and Heathrow airport is so damn huge with too many English words Zhangjing doesn’t have time to comprehend.

His limited English is just one obstacle; he has another bigger problem ahead: Zhangjing is lost; very, very lost. He doesn’t know where’s the gate position to get to his plane, and he thinks asking for help is useless with everyone,  _ literally  _ everyone here seems busy as hell they won’t spare a time to help a lost foreigner and Zhangjing doesn’t have to be extra smart to see that. He won’t blame them too, it’s all his fault for believing Chaoze after all. It’s the peak of holiday season and the airport is jam-packed, making it way more difficult for Zhangjing to find his way.

(He has another problem, but it has something to do with his pride so Zhangjing is reluctant to admit.)

Zhangjing is considerably small even for Asian men, and this place is crazy crowded with people twice his height—putting aside his fear of being in an unfamiliar place all alone, he’s afraid of those people. Just bumping into one of them seems fine, but there are hundreds of them here and Zhangjing is sure it’s just a matter of time until he’s being pushed out of the airport.

The other problem (as if he doesn’t have enough already) hits him when the final boarding announcement of his flight is being made, and they make it clear that Zhangjing only has fifteen minutes at most to find the goddamn gate 3F wherever it is. Panicking, Zhangjing tries to break through the endless crowd to find a sign or something that would help him read the situation better—only to fall face first when someone bumps into him, too hard and too fast for Zhangjing to keep himself balanced.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” a voice rings in Zhangjing’s ear, a perfect English with slightly familiar accent. The person hurriedly bends down to help Zhangjing get up on his feet again, and Zhangjing almost shivers at how strong those arms are holding him. The person is taller than him—Zhangjing can feel his breath on the tip of his ear, but maybe the person is still stooping over to check on him—and he smells like an expensive masculine perfume.

Zhangjing tries to play a game on his head and guesses the face of the person who causes him an embarrassment even though luckily no one notices it. He’s probably young, younger than him, maybe an elite college student with too much money to spend by the end of the year. He’s not that tall for Europeans, he could be Asian or a mixed. His English is good, but he has  _ this  _ accent that Zhangjing can’t quite pinpoint but he knows he has heard the accent somewhere. He has strong arms but lousy reflex, so he probably doesn’t play sports but still gets to maintain a great body posture. He probably has one of those faces to brag as well, but Zhangjing is betting for this one.

When Zhangjing turns around to face the stranger, a bingo lamp lights up at the top of his head. The person is definitely Asian judging from his face features, he looks young (but Zhangjing isn’t really sure whether the person is younger than him or not), and he doesn’t look like an elitist with too much money to spend for himself. He does have a great body and one of those faces to brag about, though, and honestly he’s the most good looking person Zhangjing has ever seen for the last twelve months he spent in London.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you. Are you okay?” he asks, checking Zhangjing from head to toe to see if he’s bleeding somewhere. Zhangjing loses the ability to English so he just nods and makes a comical gesture with his hands to tell him  _ yes, I’m okay, no problem _ , but his ears are quick enough to catch the stranger mumbles in Chinese, “What’s this small and cute being doing here? Is he lost?”

Zhangjing frowns so deep that his eyebrows merge together into one long line. “Excuse me, did you just say something about me? Small and cute being?”

The stranger looks surprised, “Do you speak Chinese?”

“Yes, apparently. I’m a native speaker, for your information.” He gives the stranger a once over, “It’s more surprising to know that you do speak Chinese as well, your English is good.”

“Thanks,” the stranger grins. “And for your information, I won’t take back what I’ve said. You  _ are  _ small and cute, I didn’t say anything wrong.”

Zhangjing rolls his eyes. Meeting a flirty stranger at a crowded airport when he’s stressing over his undiscovered flight gate, ten minutes prior his flight? Never once he has planned something similar, but if this stranger can be put on good use, Zhangjing will let him off.

“Say, do you know where Gate 3F is? I need to get there in ten minutes, but the airport is crammed and I’ve never been here before. I couldn’t even find the sign to help me to get there.”

The stranger raises one brow at Zhangjing and all Zhangjing’s hopes crumble under his feet when he shakes his head. Great, a flirty stranger who is useless, he’s lucky he’s handsome.

“I have to get to the same gate, but I’m not in hurry. I still have some time—”

 

_ “This is the final boarding call for passenger Zhangjing You and Yanjun Lin booked on flight BA741 to Shanghai. Please proceed to Gate 3F immediately. The final checks are being completed and the captain will order for the doors of the aircraft to be closed at approximately five minutes time. I repeat, this is the final boarding call for passenger Zhangjing You and Yanjun Lin. Thank you.” _

 

Zhangjing and the stranger gasp at the same time, and they both look down to see their boarding pass. They look up in horror, give each other a look that could be translated as something like,  _ “What the fuck?!” _

“Oh, shit,” the stranger groans.

He grabs Zhangjing’s hand before anyone says another word and they run.

  
  


-

  
  


Zhangjing misses his flight.

It is to be expected since it turned out that he stood at the wrong side of the airport to the closest route to Gate 3F, and by the time he found it, it was nearly twenty minutes later. Now he squats at the waiting room (all the seats are occupied) on a quiet corner, waiting for the stranger (goes by the name Lin Yanjun) who is supposed to be his flight mate to talk to the airlines employee about their tickets.

(This the stupidest first meet in the history of mankind, Zhangjing thinks. Zhangjing missed his flight because he’s lost, and Yanjun missed his flight because he looked just as lost inside the airport, but he’s worse since he mistook his flight time and he thought he still had about two hours to get on the plane.)

Zhangjing looks up when Yanjun is back, gloomy look on his face as he shakes his head. He crouches down to sit cross-legged beside Zhangjing who waits for his explanation expectantly.

“It’s impossible to do anything about it. The only way out is to buy another ticket for the next flight, but the prices are skyrocketing since we’re at the peak of holiday season and I’m broke as hell. I’d just spend New Year here, I guess,” he sighs. “What about you? Got some bucks to book another flight?”

Zhangjing grimaces and shakes his head. “No, thanks. I’m just as broke as you, if not worse.”

Yanjun laughs, offering him a handshake. “Lin Yanjun. Look at how excited the universe conspires to let us meet, we’re supposed to be flight mate but now, here we are.”

Zhangjing accepts the offer with a smile. “You Zhangjing. So you’re originally lost, too?”

“Yes,” Yanjun says, smiling. Oh, he has dimples. That’s pretty attractive. “...in your eyes.”

Zhangjing’s smile drops as fast as his good impression of Lin Yanjun does. “Are you doing this with every stranger you happen to meet?”

“What am I doing?”

“You know,” Zhangjing rolls his eyes, “flirting. We just met twenty minutes ago and you’re already asked for being slapped by my shoe.”

Yanjun laughs again, his laughter is contagious and Zhangjing can’t pretend to be annoyed for so long, so he laughs along. 

“I was serious, though. I meant everything I said. Your eyes are beautiful.”

“Do you really expect someone to trust a stranger who sweet-talks him twenty minutes after he bumped into him and made him kiss the floor?”

Yanjun’s eyes widen and he starts laughing until his shoulders shake uncontrollably. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry! I didn’t see you on the crowd since you’re small, and the airport was full with hundreds of people!”

Zhangjing squints his eyes at Yanjun, “I don’t know why but I feel offended. Did you just insult my height?”

Yanjun pays Zhangjing on the back after his laughter slowly dies down. “Aw, don’t be offended. Small people are cute, and you’re cute. It should be enough to compensate the bitterness of your height, right?”

Zhangjing slaps Yanjun’s arm, but he’s laughing. “I hate you. Do you know that small people are more vicious since we’re closer to hell? You may be tall but once I drag you down to my level, there’s no way for you to get back up.”

Yanjun smirks, “Is that a challenge? What do you want to once I’m on your level, making me your boyfriend?”

Zhangjing gasps, hitting Yanjun’s arm harder. “Stop saying nonsense!”

“Which part of being my boyfriend is nonsense?!” Yanjun shields his body from being hit any further, Zhangjing delivers every hit seriously and it starts to sting on the parts where he hits. “It’s already weird enough that we get to meet each other like this, why don’t we take it to another level instead? Nobody is going to get hurt, at least I won’t let you get hurt.” Yanjun ends his words with a wink and Zhangjing is so close to karate kick him on the face (but he doesn’t, he doesn’t want to wound such a beautiful face).

“Are you always this confident? What makes you think I even want to consider being your boyfriend?”

Yanjun shrugs, “Maybe because I want to see if love at first sight works on me,” he says in English. Zhangjing doesn’t have enough time to translate the words inside his head and Yanjun already gets up and offers him a hand. “I’m hungry, do you want to eat something?”

Zhangjing finds himself being pulled up by a strong arm after he nods, and Yanjun doesn’t let go of his hand when they walk out of the airport to the nearby restaurant.

  
  


-

  
  


Chaoze laughs three minutes straight on the phone when Zhangjing calls him to reveal his embarrassing incident today. He doesn’t tell the Yanjun part, of course, Chaoze’s time to know about him hasn’t come yet.

“I’ll hang up, call me back after you’re done laughing your ass off.”

Chaoze snorts so hard on the other line, he would have died if he was eating or drinking something at the moment.  _ “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. What are you going to do, now? Do you want to use my ticket for my flight tomorrow?” _

“No, why would I use your ticket?” Zhangjing huffs, “It’s fine, really. I’ll just tell my family that I won’t be in Shanghai for New Year, and they will be okay with that. It’s no big deal.”

_ “I’m sorry, Zhangjing. I should’ve taken you there myself and watched you off.” _

“I can hear you laugh, Chaoze, stop with the guilt-trip bullshit because I know you’re not sorry at all. You know it’s indeed your fault, but it’s also my fault for believing you so blindly. I forgot you’re an asshole sometimes.”

Chaoze chuckles,  _ “I’ll pick you up, but the traffic is so horrible so I’ll need some time. Is it okay?” _

“Yeah, take your time. I promise I won’t die.”

_ “Good boy. I’ll see you later then, Zhangjing!” _

 

“Are you going somewhere after this?” Yanjun asks, sliding a tray with two lunch boxes and two glasses of iced tea on the table.

Zhangjing nods, he is a little confused that Yanjun suddenly treats him to lunch without saying anything (he didn’t even ask) but it’s going to be rude not to accept a blessing, so Zhangjing goes along with it. “Yeah, I don’t see why I need to stay here longer, the place is so crowded it’s almost suffocating. Aren’t you going somewhere too? Home, probably?”

“Yeah, later. I’m waiting for my friend to come here, it will take some time until he arrives since the road is just as packed as the airport.”

Zhangjing smiles, “What a coincidence, it will take some time until my friend comes here to pick me up as well. Do you have a plan?”

  
  


-

  
  


Zhangjing and Yanjun spend the next one and half a hour doing a mini tour around the airport just to kill time, and to laugh at their foolishness. Zhangjing doesn’t remember how he gets closer to Yanjun all of sudden, but all he knows is Yanjun is a great company and he’s the best listener—even better than some of his friends. At the span of ninety minutes, Zhangjing knows that Yanjun is a literature student, a year younger than him, is from Taiwan (it explains the familiar accent Zhangjing heard when he spoke), and Yanjun has the best smiling face out of everyone Zhangjing knows in London, probably out of everyone Zhangjing  _ ever  _ knows.

He’s just so, so attractive it almost physically hurts Zhangjing.

Zhangjing sighs in relief when Chaoze calls him, telling Zhangjing to get ready because he’s almost there. Zhangjing loves being around Yanjun, but he doesn’t know how long it will take for him not to fall in love with this person, and to fall in love that fast is just plain weird for Zhangjing.

“I think we have to part ways now,” Zhangjing says, trying to store as many details of Yanjun’s face as possible on his brain—hey, it’s not that often that you get to see someone this good looking—and Zhangjing swears Yanjun’s eyes look a little sad, if he’s allowed to interpret it that way. “Thank you for keeping me company, and oh, thanks for the lunch! Now I don’t know how to pay you back, I don’t like feeling indebted to someone.”

A corner of Yanjun’s lips curls up in a lopsided smile. “If you want to pay me back, free your Saturday and let’s meet again here,” Yanjun takes Zhangjing’s hand and slams something that looks a lot like a piece of paper on his palm. Zhangjing lifts his head to see Yanjun’s face two inches away from him, Yanjun smiling at him and his freaking dimples are popping out mercilessly. 

“Hey, do you think it’s appropriate to give someone a kiss on first meetings?”

Zhangjing blinks, his brain has stopped working since a moment ago. “Uh, yes?”

“Hmm, I think so, too.” Yanjun chuckles and leans down to kiss Zhangjing’s cheek, his lips staying long enough to make Zhangjing’s whole face burns bright red. Yanjun ruffles Zhangjing’s head gently and walks backward, pointing to his palm as he walks further.

It takes Zhangjing a minute to get his brain functioning again and only at that time he realises that Yanjun gave him his number on the backside of the bill of their lunch earlier.

Zhangjing laughs, his incident doesn’t turn as bad as he thought at the end of the day.

  
  


-

  
  


“Are you sure you’ll be okay staying alone at my place?” Chaoze asks for the fifth times on the last ten minutes. “I mean, I can postpone my flight until Saturday, I can accompany you until then.”

Zhangjing startles at the mention of the day. “No, you’ll make your grandmother wait for you longer than she should, and it’s not good. Just go, I can manage the whole London by myself, do not underestimate me.”

Chaoze shoots Zhangjing a dirty look. “You literally just got lost inside a fucking airport you missed your flight, and now you’re acting big? Are you drunk?”

Zhangjing waves his hand in dismiss, in a futile attempt to hide his blushing face. “Whatever, but I’m serious about me being fine staying at your place when you’re gone. You know me well, I won’t burn your kitchen or set your flat in fire.”

“Yeah, but something still doesn’t feel right. Did you hook up with someone at the airport?”

“What? No!”

Chaoze gives Zhangjing a knowing look, “Oh, I know you did,” he says calmly. “I’ll wait for the uncut version of the story once I’m back from Shanghai. I’ll bring popcorns!”

 

 


End file.
